Manikanthan and the Cortege of Tigers-
Tiger cubs played with Manikanthan and the tiger moms were very kind to him. As they strolled to the palace, a tigress invited Sree Ayyappan to sit on her back. He led the procession, sitting on the tigress’s back, followed by many tigers of all ages. There were several nursing tigers so that there will be a perennial flow of tiger milk for the queen to cure her mysterious stomach-ache.
People looked at the procession and got terrified. Immediately they were happy to see that their prince Manikanthan is in control and felt proud that their future king is such a great warrior who can tame even the tigers easily. Reaching the palace, he asked the medicine man to milk the tiger and make the concoction. Everyone including the minister and the queen was awestruck, terrified, and begged for His forgiveness. The queen, the minister, and the doctors were all exposed off their scheme, but Sree Ayyappan forgave them. He blessed the tigers and sent them back to the forest. They left quietly after prostrating before Ayyappan and the citizens were mesmerized. He then spoke to the citizens imparting spiritual knowledge, telling them how ephemeral the worldly life is. It is said that the tigers were Devas reincarnated for the purpose of assisting Manikantha to complete his earthly duty.
The king Rajasekhara was a pious and devoted man who had adopted Ayyappan as his own son, prostrated before him, and asked him to take over the kingdom. But Sree Ayyappa told him about the purpose of his incarnation and he has completed his mission. He wanted to pursue an ascetic’s life and be an inspiration to people who want to pursue higher goals in life. He showed the king His divine form as the Dharma Sastha and revealed the secret of Ayyappa incarnation. He gifted him a divine sword that would be a symbol of eternal protection for the kingdom. Sree Ayyappa sought the king’s blessings to leave the palace. The king continued to rule the kingdom, and the young prince Rajarajan was crowned as the king in waiting.
Then Sree Ayyappa shot a divine arrow to locate a place in the forest to build an abode for him to spend his ascetic life. That would be a place for the people to visit and get inspired by the divinity of Vishnu, Siva, and the energy of their union, Sree Dharma Sastha. Here, his form as Sree Ayyappa will be present as a refuge for all devotees. That has become the most revered and famous pilgrim center, Sabarimala. It is surrounded by 18 hills and forests, considered to be the divine garden for Sree Ayyappa to play his Leela.
The young Manikantha had a run-in with a visiting merchant, Vavar, a person who followed the Islamic tradition of the Arabs, and he had fought with Manikantha, initially. Later on, seeing the divinity in Manikantha, Vavar became an ardent disciple and he followed Him to Sabarimala.
The king shed tears of joy of
the divine vision he had earlier, but he couldn’t bear the sorrow of separation
from his dear son. The King of Panthalam will always be the father
figure to the deity at Sabarimala. He will be building a temple for his
son and look after the temple forever.
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